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,SIG,;ATURES .-OF!, ELIZABETH rt�
DEED OF 300 ACRE' ART7
r •20 :.QUIRE J. NOBLES - 11/11f1825
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UNDERLYING TITLES MtLITjRY LOT 73
(NOTE: Military Lot 73 appears to have contained about
687 acres instead of 600; John Nobles' purchase - 437 a.)
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UNDERLYING TITLES- MtL jrsRY LOT 73
(NOTE: Military Lot 73 appears to have contained about
687 acres instca i of 600; John )i J7 ,a.)
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SQUIRE J. NOBLES and HANNAH RUMSEY NOBLES
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i. CHARLES R. NOBLES
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SOME RECEIPTS TO S4UIRE J. NOBLES AS A COMMISSIONER
OF ENFIELD SCHOOLS AND TRUSTEE OF NOBLES DISTRLCT
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FAMILY OF ARTHUR SuLKIRK NOBLES
Arthur Selkirk Nobles (born December 29, 1C33) married Sarah A.
Ervay (born December k, 1833) on January 8, 1856. Their Children
were:
Anson Nobles B. April 29, 1857 D. April 1% 1933
Truman Nobles B. January 8, 1859 D. March 10, 1904
3
Juliaette Nobles B. July 28, 1862 D. Aug. 19, 1864
Byron Dunkirk Nobles B. Nov. 26, 1865 D. ;Dac. 4, 1944
John Arthur Nobles B. Oct. 1, 1875 D. Feb. 62 1938
I -
Sarah A. srvay Nobles died on No-ember 9, 1875 in her 42nd year.
1 From about that time to about 1879,` Arthur S. Nobles had a
housekeeper named Phoebe Van De Mark who took care of John and
i
who "kidnapped" him when his father was about to re-marry. He
was traced and brought back home.
Arthur S. Nobles married Frances Ann Barber, a schoolteacher,
i
of Enfield Center, on October 23, 1879. She was born in 1846.
Therm were no children of this marriage. She brought up young
John and was instr=ental in seeing that he attended the Ithaca
Conservatory of Music, as he desired. He did not wish to become
a farmer, as his father had desired.
i
Arthur S. Nobles died at home in Enfield on April 17, 1913•
1
Frances Ann Nobles died on April 30, 1932, at Newfield, New York.
Anson, Truman and Juliaette had no middle names.
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JOHN ARTHUR NOBLE
1875 - 1938
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-- TRUMAN NOBLE'S FUNERAL. BITunRY.
his Day in History: f
,, a
It11;3Ca's Past Large Concourse of Friends and Rei- , r TR TUAS rol.r.> .
atives Attend he Service—Many Lruman Noble, the well known court
24, 1891-50 Years Ago• Beautiful Floral Pieces, stenographer,;died about noon todap
I Poultry is cheaper than it usually' The funeral of the late Tntman No- , -
who .died last Thursday, at liis utter a serious illness..of but three days.
is just before Thanksgiving. sans ble, hfr. Noble;who bad been a sufferer with
i Architect �tiilgus is drawing p liomc at ho. 507 North Tioga street,
! for a proposed addition to the Clin- Bribht'8 disease for some time past;Wa8
ton House. The sweeping of was held from the residence at = ` seized Monday.'night with a most acute
o'c.,�ck this afternoon.
lit-tdr into State street from stores The Rev. R. T. Jones of the First attack and,everythingiossible was done
and hallways keeps that thorough-
fare constantly dirty. . . .The comic Baptist church officiated,`assisted by _ to check the progress of the disease, to
opera "Wang;'' which made a hit the Rev. Wallace E. Brown of the Au_ complications et in which resulted
at the Lyceum last winter was en- rota Street \Icthodi�t-church. fatally. --Y
t joyed at the cozy play house again He was born in Enfield January Sth,
last night and by even a larger au- atives of thcndeceasiedr`«ae-present.
ibcr
1S59 and spent his childhood there. He
dience than on that occasion. The } the cas-
chorus ..'as large, well trained, s,s tokens of their�s-mpathy, attended the old Ithaca Academy in this
richly costumed, and pleasing to city and after his graduation he spent a
ket was almost covered beauti-
Eic Bicycle agents r' ' t
the eye and ear. . . • y i fu1 floral pieces. number of years teaching school in this
are beginning to Visit the city on L ttermcn. was (made`in I ake View vicinity. He prepared for the bar in the
Truman ;
their .tinter tours. office of Jared T. Newman and was ad-
Nobles, John H. Southworth, Ed- \[meterT`jmpi�t,ncyas Dnd Simeon D Smith, � - mitted`about thirteen years ago. He had,
I win D. Shurter, Geo. S. Tarbell,
III and Rennold Rolf of this city s _Mayor George «' Idil:er F. C. Fot�- made a study of Btenography and fifteen
passed the examination for admis- t ier and Warren Ells; officiated as'bear- f years ago he was appointed court Bten-
4 lion to the bar before the general crs .; ographer of Tompkins county which po-
term at Syracuse yesterday. -, :
- ••-•----a---° - sitiou he held until last December, 'Hewas also the inventor of the Perfection
j - Note Book, which he manufactured.
( SF Fie is survived by his widow and orie
I daughter,Marie:
The funeral services will be held Sat-
urday afternoon at? o'clock- from hie
tAs 4Y.
late hoipe in'No. 50 NorthTioga street.
$ The services will be conducted by the
. ,•, y ,.
Rev. RobertT. Jones, D.D., esaiatedbt
j Try,.; F ♦ 4
the hev. Wallace E. Brown. The re
_ mains will be placed in a vault at Eas
Iawn
a liar. 10, 190�- v:
zi fora few days.
Jh- ' \Ir. and \Irs, Arthur S. Noble o'f
•
�• � Trumbull corners were re to the city [v-
day attending the funeral of their son,
'F-1� file laze Truman
\oblc of A'orth
*4 fiona greet. :
, . . u ..
tZo
� Y Deaths anb TuneraIs,
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Anson N obtes
1944 Anson Nobles, if, died Saturday
Dec. �I evening, Apr. 15, at his hone in
�� } he Town of Enfield after,a long ;
Byron D. Noble Y illness. ,
Tr. Nobles died on the".farm.
-Byron D. Noble, brother of the ' Bch,rP-he ass born. After receiv-
late John A. Noble of Ithaca, diedTShc11Q}3 � _ 1857-1933 ins his *education in the .public
Monday, Dec. 4, at his home in ;-shook' of,Enfield and the-City of
Olean. He was formerly a resident !ihaca, be located in Toledo, Ohio,
Of this city and was one of Ithaca's where he was a successfu} 'archi,
first stenographers. He later be — -�•,..
f feet and, builder for many years.
Icame associated with the Groton Arthur S. Nobles. several years ago he retired'to his `
-Bridne Company.
Prominent in music circles in Artliur S. Nobles is dead at his farni .where he has pursued his
Ithaca about 50 years ago, he was hoine in Enfield, aged seventy-nine profession in 'addition to working
director of Noble's Concert Band. �car . lie 'is survived by his widow, the farm.
After the dissolution of the Gro- Franc•e:; and three sons, .'Anson of En- Ile is survived by his wido4,
mrs. Hattie-Nobles; one daughter,
inn Bridge Company, he moved to fi! ld Itrrun of Olean and John of Itli ?Its. Grace Baker of Glens;Fails;
Olean, where he has been interest I tra and one sister'. 11Irs. Mary E.
dd in o11 developments in the l \l'i,;ttherhy of Enfield. I Ole brothers, Byron D. Nobles -of
area t Olean,and 'John A. Nobles of Ith-
He is survived b• Lil-
lianI i'h funeral will be held from his i ' five grandchildren and'three
y his wife, lute residence Sunday, April 20. In-
Noble, end a nephew, J. Arthur e t eat grandchildren.
Noble, an Ithaca attorney who Is I i+,rtnant in 'ITrunibull's Cdrners Ceme• Funeral perv;ces n•ill be field at
now In the military service and is ! u ry.
slat the \TethodLst 1 ntcopal Church..
v stationed in London. England, 1 I nf'ield Cpoter, Wednesday after
Apr.
19 at ?, o'clock, thb
` - officl$tingson
Apr. 17, 1913 ..f,...vt,tten S. Peterson ,
N ' FUNERAL.
TRUMAN NOBLE'S I pgITUAigx. l`
:;This Day in History: - � fi i
I>`i13Cd�5 Past Large Concourse of Friends and Rel- r, TltomA\ 'taii't r•. }
atives Attend the Servic I Many !� -=jruman Noble, the well known Court
Iss-I-5e Tears Ago Beautiful Floral Pieces. - stenographer, died about noon .today S
Poultry is cheaper than It usually 'The funeral of the late Truman Tlo- '
I, just v Is c ape rthan ing. tvh0 died last Thursday,at his i after a serious illness -o[but three days.
i'le' 'street. I hir.-Noble,'wbo had been a sufferer with
A�rhitrct \Vdi;+is is drawing plans.. 1 nun. at No: 507 Nnrti, Tiol;., -.In
a pro Posed eddlLlmt to ll (.,In- ltrl Al t'0 dl0c aeo for r0,nn Lillie peat,was
The sweeping o[. t-as held from the residence' at : ' 6 night with a most acute
to
House. lIII sized ifonday ntg
- o'cock this afternoon•.
filter into State st,cet from stores The Rct' R. T. J
and hallways keeps that thorough- ones of the First attack and everything
possible was done
tare constantly dtr y.-••The comic _Baptist church-officiated, assisted by �, to_check the progressof the disease,bu
opera "Nang" which made a hit the Rev.Wallace E.Brown of the An-
atwhich
resulted the Lyceum last winter was.en- r,-era Street �Icthodist_churcli. fatally, -
joycd at the cozy Play house againber cnds and He was born i❑Enlietd January Sth,
last night and by even a larger au- aL«e51iof th�endeceasedt�nerre present. 1551)and spent his childhood there. He
dicnce than on that occasion. The 1 attended the old-Rhaca Academy in this
chorus was large, well trained, +,s tokens of their-sympathy, the cas l
richly- costumed, and picasing to l.ct Iva, almost covered with beauu t city and after his graduation he spent a
1 ! number of years teaching school in this
the eye and car....P,ic}'cle agents t iul floral piece s.' i
are beginning to visit the city on' = j vicinity. He prepared for the bar in the
Truman la nvcnt was+made ut Lake V,ew
their winter toms. . . . office of Jared T.Newman and was ad-
Nobles, John H. Southworth, Ed- cc+nc n', i�ttonteys David �1' Dean, tnftted about thirteen years ago. He had
in D. Shunter. Gen. S. Tarlcll: ,_.�Il \ Tompk:❑ and Simeo tt Smith,
and Rennold Rolf of this city s \taynr Gcorgc «.'`Mil cr,F. C:port` made a study of stenography and fifteen
`passed the examination for admisI 7- cr and\Warren Ellis offiaatcd as bear - .years ago he was appointed court eten-
Sion to the bar before the general cr ographer ofTompkins county which po-
term at Syracuse yesterday. J ,il -
sitinn 6e held until last December. He
was also the inventor of the Perfecticn
-- Note Book.-which be manufactured.
}:le is survived by his widow and one
yam'',- •- daughter,Marie. -
z The funeral services will be held Sat
urd'ty afternoon at- o'clock.from biE
J� late house in No-50 North Tioga street
The services will be conducted by tilt
Rev.Robert T.Jones.,D.D.,assistedbt
the Rev.Wallace E. Brown. The re
y ,•� '�
morns will be 1 liceti in a vault at Eas
flaw".
aan
1Tar. 10, 1904
yr q ''sh.z for a tilt day
y i \1r and Mn .\rthur Se:
C't)' l-
Trunbull corner +rc rn file city u.-
n�rv��` attendntg tuc ru 1c•.ral of their song
` l-t � -/ t %Y'' p• lire. late Truman V.abl,. of '�orih�
Y+
1 £� Deatils Fi1T, llttCrA15
�g+ ; r
- died Saturday
�E ; / Anson
noble it
Dec, 4, 1944 �.. / vcning, APr. 7 at his haute in
/- r
qq
E t< ,Lie Town of Lntic ld'after a tong
Byron D.Noble -...-..... -:Tut:../. ,tires
• _\I Nobles died on the farm
Byron D. Noble, brother of the vhrip he-ryas born: After receiv-
]ate John Noble of Ithaca, died AN S0 NOBLES 1857.-1933 in. his �educatilin- ill the public
Monday, s home In - }=ehools of,Enfleld and the-City of
Oleean.n. Dec.Dee c 4,He was formerly a resident l,h.,ca, he-clocated in Toledo, Ohio,
of this city and was one of Ithaca's tvh ere ho y'as auccessY u} archr
first stenographers. He later be- - --_- - -•_
feet and b"I'd" r many yearn.
camp nssoaateil with the Groton Arthur S. Nobles. gevc".I years ago he retired to his '
Bridge Company. -
Prominent In music circles in ' .1rtl, f S. Noble, is ,lead at his
farm .tihere hp h a¢. Pursued h15
Ithaca about 50 years ago,circles
was 1 tl'- ,n I,nf+cld• aged seventy-nine tn-ofossion in add,. un to working
director of Noble's Concert Band. ++> Ire i, Survived by his widow, Clip farm.
After the dissolution of the Gro- ,:gin ,,and three sons. Anson of Ill IIc Is sue i'ed by his widow`,
ton P.rid�e Com Pany, he moved to lay-ld, ltcr,�n of Olcau and John of lilt- fifes I4attle i�obl,.�, our daughter,
71tts Grater Baler of Glens Falls;
Olean, wytere he has been interest- '� -u I 0 c s� try'. \f rs. 31ary li. 1 1t+.o brother P+r D. \obles of
Ol In oil developments in the \\u.+i l l: of I ulicici. �. t>l .,n�and job, A Nobles of,Ith-
01can-Bradford area. j
Ho Is survived by his wife, L11- "f It lun+ral I+ill he held from his { , five grandebilirrn and three
flan Noble,and a nephew,T.Arthur t Iat,, r, idencc Sunday, .April 20. In- � reat grandcl ild,r t.-
Noble, an Ithaca attorney who Is 1 t'.rn"'nt in Trumbull's Corners Ceme- l I-•uneral Service.. „Ul he held at
! II„• \icthodL t 1 1 +'�{at Clii,rch.
now In the military service and Is
v I . - 7tnf rid Ci,t
nd ay .after
stationed In London, England. the
i . ` Y� -
Apr. 17, 1913 .t,. Dutton S. I te,_,n ol[lciating
• ' , � L�' �$3r er F K ,mLF r.+�.y�� 4£�1' •+ �'��,p^'" �j,��.6
V.
yr .
. r
,N�;• sician Daes J6hn'1, N0Die.,1
Musician, ff
, :. Dies"a 62
fit
7777-
The first director of music"at the
old Star Theater, John A. ,Noble,
died at Memorial Hospital late Sun.
day night, Feb. 6, 1938. He had not
F been in the best of_health for the
,-
� past six months. .. .
Mr.''Noble, who directed theater
orchestras in Ithaca, Elmira, and
Chicago for many years, also con-
ducted- a piano tuning business
' since :he returned to Ithaca from
` Chicago in 1911.
• r He was born in the Town of En-
'f N field Oct.. 1, 1875, ,attended the
school there: and was graduated`
-> from the Ithaca. Conservatory in
f 1897.He also was a graduate of the
a Chicago Conservatory. of . Piano
Tuning.
JOHN A. NOBLE Organized Band
(From a photograph Taken a As a young man in Enfield, he
some years ago) played, with his, brothers, for
neighborhood dances and organized
Nobel's Cornet Banda He traveled
with stock companies for a time
and then-,.-played in Chicago. He
left the Majestic Theater there.to
come toIthaca.
After his engagement' it the
Star 'Theater, he directed orches-
tras at the Majestic and Keeney's
In Elmira and the Strand and
Lyceum"`Theaters in Ithaca. Since
his work at Keeney's and with the
virtual disappearance of orchestras
from the smaller theaters,he had
been in the piano tuning business
here.
Belonged to Elks
He was a- member of Ithaca
Local of the Musicians' Union and
of Ithaca. Lodge, 636, BPO Elks.
He is survived -by his .widow,
Mrs. Ikose M. Van Bergen Noble;
his son, John A. Noble Jr., and one
brother, Byron D. Noble, of Olean.
Funeral services will be lield at
2 p. m. Wednesday at the-Allen
Funeral Parlors, ,Newfield, with
burial in Woodlawn Cemetery near
Newfield.
a
IOdN NOBLE DEAD
NEWFIELD.—Services for John A.
Noble, 62, will be at 2-p. m. Wednes;
day in the Allen funeral home. Burial
will be in Woodlawn cemetery near
this village. Mr. Noble died Sunday
night in Tompkins County Memorial
hospital. He had been ill for the past
slz months. He is survived, by his
wife, Mrs. Rose M..Van Bergen Noble;
- I his son, John A. Noble, Jr.:' and one
brother, Byron D. Noble; of Olean.
HISTORICAL ANECDOTES
As related by older family members from time to time:
During the early years of John Nobles and his family in Enfield, '
they were periodically visited by Indians from the Seneca Lake 'region, ,
bringing salt to be 'traded to the family for various items produced on
the f arm.
In the old days, a traveling shoemaker would 'visit the Nobles
farm once A year and remain there for several days, making shoes and
boots- for members of the family.
In his earlier years, Squire J. Nobles was over to. "The ' South
Place" (our present 21 acres) and near the boundary between it and
the main John Nobles farm he encountered a bear who promptly treed
him. He was obliged to remain in the tree for the better part of
the day before the bear got tired and finally wandered off.
Regarding the photo of Squire J. and Hannah, included herein,
Hannah, who wished to be quite proper for such an occasion, was-
annoyed with her husband for wearing a pair of cowhide boots for the
event. Before the photo was taken, she impatiently cast her skirt
across the boots in an effort to hidethem.
Squire J.- was inclined to be a rather "crusty" person and as-
he and Hannah grewzrold they both became irritable and at times-antag—
onistic toward one another. One day, old Squire-J. was sitting out
on the porch and became aware of his wife peeking at him through a
crack in the door and, perhaps,beginning to make a few uncomplimentary
remarks. He turned and spat a large stream of tobacco juice at the
crack, catching her in the eye and ending the matter.
Another example of Squire J's "crustiness" as an old man
occured when one day he was in the barn with his son, Arthur S. Nobles.
Arthur's sons, Anson and Truman, small boys, began throwing stones
against the side of the barn from outside in the spirit of mischief.
Squire J. , came out of the barn, waving his cane and demanding that
their father "take care of" those boys. He did it with a harness
strap.
In the 1860s Arthur S. Nobles purchased the J. S. Wafer
farm, located-•.just northeast of the Nobles land at the top--, of
"Eliza Jane Hill" (now called "Rumsey Hill").. He and his family
moved there a short time later and it was in this house that my
father, John A. Noble, was born--in a"bedsink", a kind of bunk
bed built into the wall, situated in what was then the kitchen,on
October 1, 1875. There was snow on the ground that morning. The
older boys- were sent out to the barn to await the birth.
While the Arthur S.- Nobles family lived on the old Wafer
farm, the older boys slept in the attic-like room which constit-
uted the second floor of the story-and-a-half house. The oldest
boy, Anson, had the habit of coming up: to bed in the dark and,
having previously placed his bed just so, would leap in the dark'
straight onto the bed. One night, before Anson came up, to bed,
the other boys, Truman and Byron, moved that bed so that when
Anson repeated his habit, he leaped into the air and landed on
the floor. Retribution followed but that performance ended the
habit.
When my father, John, was about five years old, he wanted
a sled. Christmas Eve, he hung his stocking over the old kitchen
fireplace (then used for cooking the meals).. During the night,
Byron and Truman went out into the barnyard, gathered frozen lamb
manure and filled John's stocking with it. In the morning when
John came running out to see what he had received, the lamb manure
had thawed before the fire and was dripping out of the toe. When
John began to cry, a brand new green sled was brought out of hiding.
That stopped the crying. Truman and Byron did not give up. They
went outside and spread wood ashes- on the ice then told John to
run with the sled and "slam" where the ashes were as• this was the
way "to sharpen the runners". Little John ran and "slammed". The
sled remained in place and John slid off and along on his nose-
All of this seemed pretty tragic to him at the time but in later.
years he enjoyed telling about it.
Just east of the Wafer place, down the hill, lived- Eliza-
Jane Rumsey and her daughter Carrie, Eliza Jane was a terrible
housekeeper and the house was notoriously dirty. However, she
was a good baker and turned out a fine loaf of salt-rising bread.
On her baking day, my father always tried to get down there as a:
small boy where Eliza Jane would fill him up,, with slices of warm
salt-rising bread which he loved. He carried this appetite for
salt-rising bread into his later years.
My father had no desire to be a farmer. His love was-
music. When his older brothers formed an orchestra: and played
around 'for dances, John, when ten years old, learned to play the
bass- violin and played with the orchestra, standing on a stool
to reach his instrument. His father wanted him to be a farmer
and had little sympathy with his musical desires but his step-
mother; Frances Ann, did sympathize and she raised and sold
turkeys in order to help John pay his way through Ithaca Con-
servatory of Music, then located on State Street. In the winter,
when the snow- was too deepofor the horses to negotiate, he would
walk to town, a distance of over ten miles, to take his lessons.
He later rented -a room on Tioga Street, across from his brother
Truman's house.
AREA NICKNAMES AND OLD-TIME CHARACTERS
The area in and near "Nobles District" abounded in certain
"characters" in days past and a number of the inhabitants, by reason
of their actions or appearance, earned names other than those with
which they were christened and which generally stuck with them the
rest of their lives..
There were two Fred Rumseys, one living on the Hine Road and
the other originally from Trumbulls Corners, known respectively` as
"Friedcakes Fred" and "Hornet Fred". "Friedcakes" acquired his name
because of his penchant for being a "Ladies' Man",. A new young lady
echool teacher at the Nobles Distriot Schoolhouse caught his eye and
he determined to "shine up.0 to her. One morning, he appeared at the
school and presented her with some homemade friedcakes in the presence
of the scholars.- They snickered and made fun of him behind his back
and hung that name on him.. The other Fred Rumsey was a little fellow,
a quick mover and a fast talker._ Hence the name "Hornet Fred".
On the road between Bostwick Corners and Enfield Center'lived
a man by name of Owen. For some reason, now unknown, he was called
"Monkey Owen".
In Trumbulls Corners once lived Ezra Rumsey, notorious for
being pretty free with his wind. He wound up) being known as
"Shit-Ass Ez".
Another Enfield character was Starr Horton, a friendly fellow
with whom I worked one time oi-4 the Enfield town roads. He was as
homely as a hedge fence and "wall-eyed" (the opposite -of Cross-eyed)..
He was known as "Cheese Rind" -because he was always eating cheese,
rind and all.
There was a boy in Nobles District named Genet-t Fletcher with
whom my father sometimes played when they were small boys.. He must
have been an irritating kind because my father, who was generally a
mild person, once became so exasperated with. Genett that he "took him"
along side the head with a hard Tompkins King apple. Genett had a
doting mother who was always pampering him. One of his more endearing
tricks was to hide on her then yell "Mawther ." She would answer, "What
is it, Nettie Dear?" and he would shout "KISS MY ASS V.
In the little settlement on Enfield Falls Road near the present
Upper Glen entrance, known as "The Honey Pot", once lived an old negro
named Ephraim, known locally as "Nigger Eph". His home was a log
cabin set just off the road ups against a bank.. The cabin was still
there in the 1920s in a rather dilapidated condition. It has now?
disappeared.
At Trumbulls Cornersr, Douglass Carpenter ran a small grocery
store and at one time served as Justice of the Peace. Some of the
local people looked to him as a man of the laws and many came to him
to have deeds and other legal papers "drawed up". His deeds were not
models of precise conveyancing since he merely copied the older deeds
brought to him (which in themselves were often poorly drawn), thus
perpetuating the old mistakes and occasionally failing in the copy-
ing, Many Trumbulls Corners properties are poorly described, not
entirely due to him but not helped by him either. -Such descriptions
as one starting out "Beginning (so many feet) fro= the southwest corner
of the blacksmith shop—". (which had disappeared years before) are not
uncommon.. Douglass Carpenter could be seen sitting out on the store
porch, holding forth before an assemblage of neighbors, dispensing
advice and opinions.
Another typical old-fashioned country store was lom aced at
the main corners just east of the Carpenter emporium, run by J. D.
Smith and his wife. Thurza. In addition to groceries and some meat,
items of wearing apparel and "notions" were for sale. Suspended from
the ceiling were boots; work shoes and gloves and numerous other items,
giving the place a -dark, musty appearance.. A personal visit to the
store to purchase a loaf of bread brought Thurza out of the gloomy
rear of the place. In making change for my dollar, she produced a
an old, very deep) change purse out of which she painfully extracted
various small coins accompanied by a liberal amount of lint, fuzes•
and chaff. The transaction must have taken at least ten minutes..
The store was not very clean but it had a p-leasant old-time smell..
On the hilly road once known as- "Eliza Jane Hill", now
called Ramsey Hill Road, lived Eliza Jane Ramsey.. Her daughter,
was Carrie Rumsey who was born .in the 1860s. She was a young
spitfire.. She attended the Nobles District School. One time, a
new boy who occupied the double-seated desk with Carrie tried to
"play upj' to her. She suddenly rammed her behind against him and
sent him sprawling on the floor. As she grew older, she gradually
lost her good looks but not her character.. She still wore nineteenth
century long black dresses and high-top° shoes to the time of her
death, her skirts 'reaching down to her heels-. She became toothless-
and her face took on a witchlike appearance due to a receding mouth
and jutting chin. ,: When Carrie drove her horse to town as a young
woman, it is said that it was a sight to see her driving up State
Street, standing_ug and wielding the whip, with one foot cocked up
on the dash, defying the .world She remained proud and full of
fire to the end- Although living in poverty in her 80s, she refused
welfare aid (as did her son, Louis Humphry) . When the "authorities."
discovered her plight, they removed her to the hospital and, cleaned
her up:, against all of -which she fought, gamely. As the result of
old age and malnutrition, she died there a few-days later.
Young Carrie had married a young neighbor named Parker Leonard
but the marriage did not last long. It is said that Eliza Jane broke
it up- but it was probably the result of the combination of both her
and Carrie- However, she was married long enough to have the marriage
produce a son, Louis Leonard. He developed a great interest in
herbs and medicine, and with proper education might have made a fine
doctor. In later life, he adopted the name Louis Humphrey so that.
he could he known :as. "Dr. Humphrey" after the founder.;of "Dr. Humphrey's
Patent Medicines!'. He went to court and had the name,-changed legally.
He did attend ta. the ills of neighbors from time to time. My Uncle
Anson would sometimes remark that he was "doctorin' with Lou".
When Lou was in his 30s, he married an old woman named Julia.
She promised to buy him an automobile if he would marry her. . They
were married and she bought a small Buick. However, she was quarrel-
some and hard to get along with and probably Lou didn't help any..
The peak of bad relations came one day when they were out riding in
the car and she became infuriated about something and began to
belabor Lou about the head and shoulders while he was driving. The
car went off the road and was badly smashed but Lou and Julia were
not seriously injured- Thereafter, the marriage ended in legal separation.
Lou then went back to living in the dilapidated house on "Eliza Jane
Hill" with his mother, Carrie. He continued to concoct his herb
medicines and could be seen driving his.horse and buggy around the
neighborhood to gather herbs until he flied in the 1950s.
Both Carrie and Lou are buried in the old Rumsey Cemetery
at the foot of "Eliza Jane Hill". Both had had a mortal fear that
after they died, woodchucks would invade their graves.. They prevailed
upon an affluent distant cousin,- Lawrence Rumsey, of Ithaca, to
provide t4em with concrete vaults when they died- He did so in each
case at his own expense.
Eliza Jane, Carrie and Lou were distant cousins of mine through
my great-grandmother, Hannah.Rumsey Nobles.-
In the early 1930s, Charlie Starks came to board at the home
of my Uncle Anson under an old-age assistance program. He was then
in his 70s. Charlie was a nice old fellow with one bad-fault -he was
a compulsive talker. He had been a hired hand most of his life. The
most favored topic of his one-sided conversations consisted of sit-
uations where other people had met with some kind of trouble - a wagon
stuck in the mud or overturned, a threshing machine bogged down, or
azy mess requiring horse strength and Charlie's "know-how" to solve it.
His narratives seldom varied from this general plot- only the names and
locations were changed - and were made up--, of one long sentence into
9
which he plunged relentlessly, relating how someone would rush up)
looking for help., how he got over there with the horses and, with
great .skill in handling the team, solved the problem. He would
continue on until he ran out of breath, gulp in air, then continue.
Inevitably, he would reach the point where he would say "--so I
hitched ugythe horses-=(gulp) ", then go on to perform his pro-
digious feats. He would become so engrossed in his tale that he
would continue on long after his captive audience had fled the
scene. This habit of his irritated my Uncle Anson who often`
referred to Charlie as "that damned old fool".
Charlie departed this life long ago and he is buried over
in Schuyler County in a quiet, pmaceful country cemetery. One might
wonder if it has remained quiet _since Charlie moved in.